1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to contractible foldable ladders of the lazy-tong type for use in an extended position, preferably in conjunction with a boat for facilitating egress of a person from the water and in a retracted position for compact stowage. More particularly, the ladder is so constructed for attachment to the underside of a swim/dive platform thereby permitting stowage thereunder.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Contractible lazy-tong ladders are well-known in the vehicular art as evidenced by the U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,575,615 to Crump, 2,969,850 to Hillis, 3,462,170 to Smith et al. and 4,623,160 to Trudell which disclose their use in the extended position for easy access to the interior of vehicles and in the contracted position for stowage; in the fire escape art as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 877,363 to Nielsen; and in the boat art by a publication published in 1986 by American Ladder Corporation of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Although not disclosing a contractible ladder the U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,485 to Terry et al. discloses a boat having a swim/dive platform including a ladder secured to a hull wherein the ladder in the non-use position is mounted on the top surface of the platform.